Legislation was passed on Thursday, December 8th, by the United States House of Representatives that protects same-sex and interracial marriage. The next step is for President Joe Biden to sign the bill into law.
The Respect For Marriage Act, which was passed by the Senate in November, provides “statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages.” It requires all states to recognize “valid marriages,” and it repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, which was signed in 1996 by former President Bill Clinton.
According to Congress, the “bill replaces provisions that define, for purposes of federal law, marriage as between a man and a woman and spouse as a person of the opposite sex with provisions that recognize any marriage between two individuals that is valid under state law.” The bill also “replaces provisions that do not require states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states with provisions that prohibit the denial of full faith and credit or any right or claim relating to out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.”
The House voted 258 to 169, with 39 Republicans voting in favor of the bill. All Democrat representatives voted to pass the bill.
No members from the Tennessee GOP voted to support the bill.
When the bill was passed through the Senate, Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Haggerty were among the 36 republicans who voted against the bill.
The future of same-sex marriages was questioned after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June. This speculation was heightened after Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the concurring opinion that “In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell.”
Congressman Steve Cohen voted in favor of the act. Cohen released this statement regarding his vote.
“The Respect for Marriage Act simply says each state will recognize other states’ marriages and not deny a person the right to marry based on race, gender, or sexual orientation. The only reason to vote against it is if you believe people shouldn’t have the right to choose their partner and marry who they love. I do and was proud to vote for them.”
Representatives from local LGBTQ+ organizations and establishments in Memphis voiced their excitement over this news.
Keleigh Klarke, the entertainment director of Dru’s Place (Dru’s Bar) located on 1474 Madison Ave. said, “We are ecstatic! For myself, having just gotten married on November 12th, and with the current attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, this is an amazing bit of peace to carry through our days. We have multiple Dru’s family members that the passing of this bill will be a huge comfort to and others that it will give a brighter and more hopeful outlook to the future!”
Phillis Lewis, CEO and founder of Love Doesn’t Hurt, a nonprofit that “provides assistance to victims of Domestic & Sexual Violence in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community,” said, “The recent passage of the bill is definitely a step in the right direction to help provide protections for marriages involving not only same-sex couples but interracial ones as well. We hope this momentum continues to create a country that is equitable and does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression or identity, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.”